2,860 Shares in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Bought by Ameritas Advisory Services LLC

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 2,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $91,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $243,000. Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 16,609.6% during the 2nd quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 1,519,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,490,000 after buying an additional 1,510,314 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,527,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,780,000 after buying an additional 370,570 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,501,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $295,970,000 after buying an additional 521,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $431,000. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of MFC opened at $31.71 on Friday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52 week low of $25.92 and a 52 week high of $33.07. The firm has a market cap of $53.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.85.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The company had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a $0.3199 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 56.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $47.00 price target on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.00.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in the United States, Canada, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks.